Review: Friends To Die For by Jane Sughrue Giberga

Friends To Die For, a book released in 1997 by Jane Sughrue Giberga, might be worth your time to read–if you get it from the library. This book about life for teenagers on Manhattan’s A-List was decent, but not worth the money it would take to buy it new.

Sixteen-year-old Cristina Garcia-Vasquez and her friends live in fancy apartments, attend super-expensive private schools, and everything else you’d associate with A-List teens in New York City. And that’s got to include parties in these huge apartments when parents are away for weeks at a time, right?

When a girl is murdered in a subway station, and Cristina was at the party where this girl was last seen alive, life changes drastically for Cristina, her family, and her friends. Matters are not helped by the segment on TV about the Garcia-Vasquez family, focusing on Janine Billings, the murdered girl, and Cristina’s stay-at-home mom.

This book has a lot of interesting elements: The funny hate messages from feminists about Cristina’s mom, the mystery of Janine Billings’ murder, the press stalking Cristina, her friends, and her family…

It’s not a very consistent book, though. Sure, the plot sounds interesting, but the story has its dull moments. Also, some characters are very well-developed, while others are rather two-dimensional.

Yes, this book is interesting and amusing at times. Sure, it’s a decent read when you’re bored and don’t have much else to do. The cover art, which is cool enough, might draw you in. But, really, when you finish the last page, this book will leave your mind completely. If you see it in a bookstore somewhere, you might vaguely remember reading it. It is not, however, a book that will stick with you forever. It’ll keep you entertained, though, and, if you’re not paying for it, that’s good enough.